History 84N ground to a screeching halt last week as the members of the seminar class passive-aggressively improved their pronunciations of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev’s name.
It all began when sophomore Casey Lipski enunciated “Khryschov,” while explaining the maturation of Soviet foreign policy in the Middle East. Morgan Letterman’s response about Soviet adventurism upped the ante with a resounding trill in “Khrrrrüschov.”
“Chrisev,” mispronounced freshman Ilkay Naresin as he explained America’s response, before he was immediately corrected by Rex Chalen’s insistence that Afghan politics were irreversibly changed by the intervention of “Khryyiev.”
The score was briefly reset as Professor Beinin stepped in, pointing out that the Soviet Union did not become involved in Afghani politics “until the premiership of Březhnyev.” This relative reprieve did not last long, however, as students eventually resumed the contest with successive pronunciations of “Kruskiv, Krîshôv, and Xryeéb.
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“…Clüøb. It was Xhuéioøv,” said Jeremy Filton as the class section concluded.
